THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a safety arrangement for a motor vehicle, and more particularly relates to a safety arrangement for a motor vehicle in the form of a light truck, pick-up truck, van or sport utility vehicle.
Many vehicles, in the form of motor cars for private use, are provided with front and rear bumpers, and may also be provided with side bumpers. Typically the bumpers on a motor vehicle are located at such a height above the road that the bumpers on the vehicle will engage the bumpers on another vehicle if the two vehicles are involved in an impact. Typically the bumpers are located substantially in alignment with the floor-pan of the vehicle, if the vehicle is of monocoque construction, or are located substantially in alignment with the chassis of the vehicle, if the vehicle has a discrete chassis.
The bumpers are thus positioned to receive the energy that is applied to a vehicle in an impact situation and to transfer the energy to the parts of the vehicle structure that have been designed to absorb the energy.
There are, at the present time, an increasing number of vehicles in use on the roads, which may be termed “high” vehicles, in which the vehicle is  provided with substantial ground clearance, with the consequence that the bumpers provided on the vehicle are located at a much higher level above the road surface than the bumpers on a conventional vehicle. Examples of such “high” vehicles may include light trucks, pick-up trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles.
When a “high” vehicle of the type described above is involved in an impact with a conventional motor car, the bumper on the high vehicle is located substantially above the bumper on the conventional vehicle, and thus, in a frontal impact the bumpers do not engage.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing a high vehicle 1 about to be involved in a frontal impact with a conventional vehicle 2. It can be seen that the front bumper 3 of the high vehicle 1 is located substantially above the front bumper 4 of the conventional vehicle 2, so that during a frontal impact the front bumper 3 of the high vehicle 1 will ride over the front bumper 4 of the conventional vehicle 2. Thus substantial damage will be effected to the conventional vehicle 2, and the crumple zone provided in the conventional vehicle 2 may not operate in the intended manner.
If a high vehicle 1 is engaged with a side impact with a conventional vehicle 2, as shown in FIG. 2, very substantial damage can be effected to the conventional vehicle 2, since the bumper 3 of the high vehicle 1 will impact the conventional vehicle 2 at a level well above that of the floor pan 5 of the conventional vehicle 2. In such a situation the bumper 3 of the high vehicle 1 will engage the door or side panel 6 of the conventional vehicle 2, and it is to be envisaged that if the high vehicle 1 impacts the conventional vehicle 2 with a velocity in excess of a very low velocity, the door or side panel 6 will be driven  inwardly into the interior of the conventional vehicle 2. An occupant of the conventional vehicle may thus be seriously injured.
It is to be understood, of course, that if a conventional vehicle is involved with a side impact with another conventional vehicle, the front bumper on the first conventional vehicle will be substantially at the level of floor pan 5 of the second vehicle.